Motorway barriers

Reflecting on the Budget, what is really involved in terms of social welfare, housing, wage growth, and superannuation?

Removing the KiwiSaver $1000 kickstart creates $125 million a year. Up to 110,000 families will receive up to $25 a week of new income at a cost of up to $143 million a year. Almost a zero sum cost to the nation.

The current net migration into Auckland is 100 people a day, which drives a target of 13,000 dwellings a year over the next 30 years. In the past year, 7700 dwellings were created. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment says it expects production to peak at 9000. That is 4000 too few a year and 120,000 over 30 years. In an environment where land banking makes daily capital gain without lifting a finger, demand will continue to exceed supply.

In addition to migrants into Auckland, there are three-year visas for skilled migrants for the Christchurch rebuild. Farm ownership, workers and profits are going overseas, and low-wage labour is entrenched in food outlets. There are more people than jobs. Mathematics, not wage growth.

The pool of business employees to generate wealth and pay tax to support all other groups is being severely depleted with every passing year. Mathematics, not superannuation.

Nigel Meek, Glen Innes. The SH1 stretch from Manukau to Takanini, not just that passing the Botanic Gardens, is a Third World embarrassment.

An amateur landscaper understands that gardens require serenity and beautiful vistas. Instead, in the gardens in some places you cannot even hear the bees from the dull drone of motorway and ugly overhead power lines.

On the failed motorway acoustic barrier wall, any acoustic engineer student can tell you hard surfaces reflect noise. The solid concrete wall panels, especially arranged as a curve to focus on a dozen houses opposite, would have driven the occupants to the mental asylum. Lining the wall with perforated panels or even haystacks would have gobbled up the noise.

Dave Sandford, Karaka.